Thank you both The Judgmental Vegan and Stop and Smell the Veggies for the nomination! I feel so flattered and over here gushing like crazy over the blog love!
Rules:
- Answer the questions given and then come up with 10 new ones to ask your nominees.
- Nominate 8 other blogs, let them know you have nominated them and put a link to their blog in your post.
- No Tag backs and nominees must have under 200 followers on any platform.
- You must tell all the blogs that you nominate that you have nominated them.
This is a compilation of questions that The Judgmental Vegan and Stop and Smell the Veggies asked me:
Why did you decide to go vegan?
I went vegan after one particularly cold winter when my (vegetarian) roommate and I didn’t do much else besides watch documentaries on Netflix. We watched Forks Over Knives, Vegetated, Food Matters and Hungry for Change and it made me question my serious meat-eating lifestyle. I just plainly asked myself “Do I feel good?” and when I was truthful with myself the answer was no. So the day after Valentine’s Day 2013 Mark and I went vegan. We failed a few times here and there but like anything it is mostly habit and we got the hang of it eventually.
Is there any non-vegan food that you miss?
Chicken wings! I had a serious love affair with hot crispy wing smothered in buffalo sauce and dipped in ranch. Hogtown Vegan in Toronto does a great version of this pub favourite so now I just go there to treat myself. Mark and I always get two orders because we never want to share.
What vegetable do you feel like you should like, but somehow, just don’t?
Truthfully, (some) squash and eggplant. I had spaghetti squash once and I don’t get the hype. Maybe I made it all wrong but I would give it another go. As for eggplant I don’t hate it but I just don’t love it. I like eggplant bacon but not eggplant “parmesan”. Am I a bad vegan?
Is there a recipe that you’re dying to try, but haven’t gotten around to it yet?
Fran Costigan’s Blackout Cake from Vegan Chocolate but I think I might save this one for my birthday!
Who is your favorite cookbook author? Why?
I don’t know if this counts but America’s Test Kitchen: Cook’s Illustrated are my favourite cookbooks because they are all about the science behind food and recipe development. I get a lot of flavour profile inspirations from these cookbooks even though they are nowhere near vegan.
What was your first vegan cookbook?
My first vegan cookbook was La Dolce Vegan!: Vegan Livin’ Made Easy by Sarah Kramer. I purchased it in my second year of university when I entertained the idea of going vegan. I still have the copy on my book shelve. It was the ONLY vegan cookbook at my small town bookstore. Thankfully now there are so many awesome resources and products out there to make the switch that much easier but thanks to Sarah to paving the way!
What was the best meal you ever made for yourself or someone else?
Mark is obsessed with my Crispy Fish Cakes. He said that it would be part of his last meal if he ever ended up on Death Row. Creepy and sweet of him.
Do you find it easy to be vegan in the area you live in? How do you make it work?
I live in Toronto so going vegan was fairly easy. Most coffee places have a non-dairy alternative, Pizzaiolo has veggie packed vegan pizza by the slice and there is a better selection of vegan-friendly restaurants. I love Fresh, Hogtown Vegan and Grasslands. Making it work is easy when the resources are there. I can totally get someone’s hesitation to go vegan if you are from a small community or town but I hope vegan blog and websites can help you out.
If you could only eat one processed, vegan product (with the rest of your diet being whole foods), which would it be?
Oooo that’s a tough one. Toss up between chocolate and hot sauce.
What’s one thing about yourself that you feel has very little to do with being vegan?
Being a server at a barbecue restaurant where absolutely nothing is vegan and I serve people ribs and burgers all night.
What is your favorite non-fiction book pertaining to a vegan diet?
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. It is a hard read but an important one.
What is your go-to meal on a busy night?
Hummus in a wrap with loads of veggies. I have literally eaten this on my way to the subway station to go to work.
Who is your favorite celebrity vegan?
Casey Affleck, it could be because he is vegan or perhaps those dreamy blue eyes or a mix of the two.
What do you listen to when you cook?
I usually have Netflix going as I cook. I just marathon-ed The Walking Dead getting ready for the upcoming season!! Though sometimes not the best show to watch when you are about to eat.
Where do you get your protein? 😉
Dark greens, beans (in hummus form usually), spirulina, quinoa and lentils!
What’s your favorite documentary?
My favourite documentary about nutrition is Forks Over Knives. This documentary was a serious game changer for me and my lifestyle. It taught me that I am responsible for my health and (almost) all of my ailments could be solved through nutrition. Because of this film I went vegan and no longer suffer from: chronic fatigue, extremely low energy, migraines, insomnia and heartburn. So thank you Forks Over Knives!
I nominate the following bloggers:
http://www.iheartcrapkitchen.com.
http://freshbyfriska.wordpress.com
Now here are my questions for my nominees:
- What was your diet/lifestyle life before you went vegan?
- What was the tipping point of you committing to a vegan lifestyle?
- What do you hate about blogging? (I personally hate all the dishes for failed recipes!)
- Are you the only vegan you know? Or have your friends jumped on the Vegan Train with you?
- What is meal have you made and thought to yourself (or out loud) “Damn I am good!” ?
- Where do you want your blog to take you? Publish a cookbook? Have a cooking show?
- What is your favourite “junk-food” snack?
- What cuisine do you find easiest to veganize?
- What recipe of yours is a carnivore’s favourite requested dish when you go to family/friend gatherings?
- What is your favourite cooking season? (Do you love Fall for pumpkin? Or peas and mint in the Spring?…etc)
Thank you so much again to The Judgmental Vegan and Stop and Smell the Veggies! Happy Last Week of VeganMoFo!
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Vegan Chocolate is a wonderful cookbook. I haven’t made the blackout cake, but I did make the sachetorte (pictured on the front cover) and the chocolate espresso gelato. Ho man! That gelato. It’s the stuff dreams are made of. My non-vegan nana and my great-aunt both LOVED it.
Loved your answers!